20 Of The Best Films That Never Won The Best Picture Oscar

Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Pulp Fiction, and The Wizard of Oz are all undisputed cinematic masterpieces. They’ve thrilled audiences and inspired filmmakers, but none of them impressed The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. That’s right. None of those towering works of art took home a Best Picture Oscar.

It would be nice to live in a world where the Academy Awards were given strictly accordingly to merit, but the Oscar race is a political campaign. Sometimes, great artistic experiments are snubbed in favor of tepid crowd pleasers, and other times, a year is so stacked that it’s literally impossible to honor each great film with the title of “Best Picture.”

We went through the history books — okay, this Wikipedia page — and found 20 of the biggest upsets, snubs, and oversights in Oscar history…and we collected them all here with links to where you can stream them tonight.

'Citizen Kane'

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Orson Welles’ masterpiece Citizen Kane is often considered one of the best, if not the absolute greatest, film ever made. And yet, it lost the 1941 to the sweet and sentimental How Green Was My Valley. [Where to Stream Citizen Kane]

'Vertigo'

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There’s no argument that Alfred Hitchcock was of the most brilliant and influential directors of all time. The one thing you can debate? Which of his films is the best. In recent years, Vertigo has emerged as a critical favorite. Our own Tyler Coates enjoyed it when he watched it for the first time last fall. Have you crossed it off your cinematic bucket list, yet? [Where to Stream Vertigo]

'Do The Right Thing'

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Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing is as timely a film today as it was when it was released over 25 years ago. The film tackles gentrification, racial tension, and heartache with artistry and honesty. It all takes place over one blisteringly hot day in a Brooklyn neighborhood and shows the small, petty things that make people boil over. Amazingly, the film wasn’t just robbed of an Oscar; it was shut out of the race. [Where to Stream Do The Right Thing]

'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb'

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Stanley Kubrick didn’t like to make comfortable movies. He liked to push and prod us to our limits so as to make us question our place in society, the world, and in history. Dr. Strangelove, as it’s commonly known, has obviously endured the test of time, but back in 1964, it lost the Best Picture Oscar to the delightful and frothy My Fair Lady. [Where to Stream Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb]

'Double Indemnity'

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Double Indemnity is one of the greatest film noirs ever made. Do you know which film beat it for an Oscar? Going My Way. You know Going My Way, right? Everyone knows and loves Going My Way. Actually, I’m being totally sarcastic. I had never even heard of Going My Way until today. It’s a Bing Crosby musical comedy and I guess it’s really good. It’s probably an underrated gem. But it’s no Double Indemnity. You dig? [Where to Stream Double Indemnity]

'Pulp Fiction'

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You could argue that Pulp Fiction redefined cinema for the better or that it ruined independent film. Either way, you can’t deny that the film has made an indelible impact on our modern culture. However, the film did not take home that coveted Best Picture Oscar. In fact, Quentin Tarantino’s films have never taken home a Best Picture trophy and Tarantino’s two Oscars are for screenwriting, and not directing. [Watch Pulp Fiction]

'Fargo'

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For years, the Coen Brothers were the misfit children of the American film industry. They’ve routinely made gloriously beautiful and quirky films, but they’ve rarely taken home the Oscar. We could have picked any of the films in their epic oeuvre to highlight on this list, but we’re shining a light on Fargo. The offbeat crime thriller is currently on Netflix and has inspired one of the best television series in recent memory. [Watch Fargo]

'There Will Be Blood'

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Speaking of the Coen Brothers and Oscars… Paul Thomas Anderson’s staggeringly genius There Will Be Blood probably would have won the Best Picture Oscar if not for the fact that the Coen Brothers put out No Country For Old Men in the same year. Both films were perfect pieces of cinema, but in 2007, the Academy felt it was time to give Joel and Ethan their due. [Watch There Will Be Blood]

'A Hard Day's Night'

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I consider A Hard Day’s Night to be one of the greatest films ever made. You want to fight me on it? Sure, it’s a musical comedy starring the Beatles as themselves at the height of Beatlemania. Yes, it was obviously intended to be part of a marketing scheme capitalizing on the band’s wild success. However, it’s one of the most sharply written British comedies of all time. It perfectly encapsulates the feeling of the mod movement and is an elegant ode to friendship and fandom. This film is a miracle. [Watch A Hard Day’s Night]

'The Graduate'

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I mean, I guess I can see how The Graduate missed the boat on a Best Picture Oscar. It was up against In The Heat of the Night, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, Bonnie and Clyde, and, uh, Doctor Doolittle. Still, it’s hard to believe that such a sharp, smart, and beautiful film that’s filled with so many iconic lines and images didn’t win the Academy Award for Best Picture. [Watch The Graduate]

'Chinatown'

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Chinatown is yet another film that you can’t believe didn’t win a Best Picture Oscar until you find out what it lost to: The Godfather Part II. I might not “get” The Godfather, but I do understand the bleak beauty of Chinatown. Sure, there’s a famous twist ending, but for my money, the thing that shocks me the most about the film noir is that it’s all about water. [Watch Chinatown]

'Her'

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We admit that it’s still a bit early to tell if Spike Jonze’s Her will enchant audiences as much 15 years from now as it does today, but there’s no arguing that it’s an exquisitely somber, and yet hopeful, meditation on love and loss in the digital age. [Watch Her]

'Doctor Zhivago'

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Doctor Zhivago is a lavish look at a destructive love triangle at the height of Russian imperialism. It’s chock full of dizzying beauty and passionate performances. It also missed out on a Best Picture Oscar. What won in its place? Why, The Sound of Music. [Watch Doctor Zhivago]

'Young Frankenstein'

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In the early days of the Oscars, comedies were not only celebrated, but they also often beat out some serious dramatic rivals. It Happened One Night, You Can’t Take It With You, and the aforementioned Going My Way all took home the big prize. But by the time the 1970s rolled around, comedies were considered second-class. So, in 1974 — the same year that The Godfather, Part II beat out Chinatown — the absolutely genius Young Frankenstein was stiffed out of a nomination. But hey, you can watch the classic comedy on HBO Go right now! [Watch Young Frankenstein]

'Stagecoach'

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John Ford is the king of American Westerns, and 1939’s Stagecoach was his first Western with sound. The landmark film has been hailed by both The Library of Congress and the Criterion Collection as one of the most important and influential films ever made. Don’t get too upset that it missed out on a Best Picture Oscar, though. It lost to a little movie called Gone With The Wind and came out the same year as The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Goodbye Mr. Chips, and Of Mice And Men. Basically, 1939 was a very big year for American cinema. [Watch Stagecoach]

'The Wizard of Oz'

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No, The Wizard of Oz didn’t win Best Picture. Yes, like I said, Gone With The Wind won. I just said that 1939 was an insane year for film. Oh, you don’t like Gone With The Wind? Well, even AFI puts Gone With The Wind above The Wizard of Oz. Fine, you can just go stream The Wizard of Oz! Do it! [Where to Stream The Wizard of Oz]

'2001: A Space Odyssey'

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We’re giving Stanely Kubrick two slots on this list because it’s just impossible to underestimate how important 2001: A Space Odyssey is to science fiction. Kubrick’s sprawling epic isn’t a shoot ’em up space opera, but a work of philosophy about the very nature of humanity. Every science fiction director since him has been trying to copy some intangible part of it and not a single one has come close to eclipsing this film. [Where to Stream 2001: A Space Odyssey]

'La Strada'

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One of the major complaints that has dogged the Oscars since its inception is that the award show does little to celebrate foreign films. Yes, there’s a unique category to honor cinema made outside of the United States, but it always feels like an afterthought. La Stradawon the very first Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1956, but we think Fellini’s groundbreaking masterpiece should have been at least included in the Best Picture race. The films that were nominated that year? The Ten Commandments, Giant, The King and I, Friendly Persuasion, and that year’s winner, Around The World In 80 Days. [Watch La Strada]

'Seven Samurai'

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Japanese director Akira Kurosawa is yet another foreign auteur given the shaft in the Best Picture race. A number of his influential films are available on Hulu, but we think you should start with Seven Samurai. Why? Well, it inspired A Bug’s Life for one. Okay, and it’s really, really good. [Watch Seven Samurai]

'Raging Bull'

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Look, we love Ordinary People for the tearjerker porn that it is, but does anyone honestly believe in 2015 that the depressing character study deserved to win the Oscar over Martin Scorcese’s masterpiece, Raging Bull? [Where to Stream Raging Bull]